Internship at MOHAN Foundation

About MOHAN Foundation

MOHAN Foundation is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization started to promote organ donation in 1997 in Chennai by philanthropists and medical professionals led by Dr. Sunil Shroff. It is a registered NGO with Income Tax exemption and has offices in Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Jaipur, Mumbai and USA....Read More

Internship at MOHAN Foundation

MOHAN Foundation offers internship opportunities to interested individuals. These are awarded after screening the applications. All interns are required to become life members of MOHAN Foundation.

As we survive on limited resources, interns will be provided with a stipend towards their expenses depending on their commitments. This shall be paid at the end of second month after completion of one month and having a satisfactory report of performance. Interns for shorter term (one month and less) will not get any compensation. Accommodation and local conveyance expenses will need to be borne by the interns.

My time here at MOHAN Foundation really was an invaluable experience in many aspects. As part of my master studies in Human Security I came here as a research intern on the topic of public trust in organ donation. What seemed to be a just a study internship turned out to be so much more. The people here at the foundation are really supportive and open-minded. In the beginning of course the Indian way of working and doing things can be quite challenging but with time I learned to go with the flow and would even say that my way of approaching things might have changed a little. Coming to India one simply has to be open to let go of his or her customs of organizing things and embrace flexibility. It will definitely pay out and I enjoyed the independence that I was given in pursuing my study.Read More

During my 4-months internship here I got the opportunity to participate in a lot of activities, including the organization of a big national conference, online marketing activities, educational programs, reviewing papers and even presenting an abstract at a national transplant coordinators meeting. My main focus however was on conducting interviews with various experts as well as families of deceased organ donors on the topic of public trust and their experience with the organ donation system in Tamil Nadu. MOHAN Foundation was extremely accommodating and helpful regarding the arrangement of contacts and scheduling appointments for the interviews and also they had a thorough eye on my personal and academic opportunities and development during and even after my stay here.

Besides Chennai city I have also traveled to several places in Tamil Nadu including Coimbatore and Trichy as well as several villages and places in Chennai surroundings always accompanied by at least one MOHAN employee. Through the interviews I got a very multifaceted impression about organ donation in Tamil Nadu and what it is that makes Tamil Nadu leading the way in deceased organ donation, such as the transparency of the allocation, trustworthiness of the doctors and health personnel as well as the vast government support. Still there are some challenges, like access to the treatment for all people, education and awareness about both organ donation itself and especially brain death, and myths about organ commercialism or incompatibility of organ donation and religious belief. For sure I have gained a lot of valuable knowledge based on which I am going to write my master thesis the coming six months.

I really value my time here at the foundation and am very thankful to each and everyone who has made the experience so special to my personal and professional development.

I am a Dutch student in Health information. On the 18th of May, I stepped into a plane full of Indians, leaving for Hyderabad to work in MOHAN Foundation for a period of four months. This internship would constitute the last part of my study. Now, almost at the end of my stay here, I have the feeling that I know the organ donation world in India almost from top to toe.

In the past months, I have been participating in all of MOHAN Foundationís activities, like giving presentations, distributing information brochures, creating awareness in street campaigns, etcetera. At the same time, I interviewed all kinds of people that are involved in organ donation, like transplant coordinators and patients that received an organ themselves. Furthermore I did a small survey on the awareness on organ donation among the public.Read More

Due to this research I found out quite a few interesting things about organ donation in India. First of all, eye donation is pretty well known now. This procedure had been carried out for some decades now and has become quite common. But more than half of the people are not aware of the concept of organ donation yet. Brain death, which is the condition for organs to be taken out, is known by even less people. On the other hand, after explanation of the concepts of organ donation and brain death most people are very positive about it. After asking the question whether they would be willing to donate their own organs after their death, more than 80% answered this question with yes.

Despite this willingness to donate, far too few organs become available for patients suffering from end stage organ failure. If itís not the people that refuse to donate, the problem has to lie somewhere else. I experienced that one of the hurdles is the attitude of the hospitals to declare brain death and maintain a brain dead patient. They donít have a focus on this, because they prefer to provide the bed to another person or are afraid of a scandal (as still organ donation has a bad name in India) and ruin the good name of the hospital. However, at least six people can be saved from this brain dead person!

Thatís why I think two things are very important to be done. One thing is to educate the public about organ donation and brain death, and make them aware of the fact that in cadaveric organ donation no trading takes place. Once they are aware of the possibility of organ donation in case of brain death, they will come forward for donation themselves. This would be encouraging to doctors who might then be more willing to make a request for organ donation in other such cases. The other thing is to convince hospitals that itís important to declare brain death as a standard procedure because so many lives can be saved by the transplants.

And finally, it would be very desirable that the government raises some funds to help people in getting enough resources for the transplant. Currently, no social welfare system is there in India, and as a result poor people can never bear the costs of a transplant. Contradictorily, especially the less wealthy give consent to donate far more often than the richest of society.

In brief, I think there is a long way to go, but at least MOHAN Foundation is doing an excellent job and they are on the right track towards saving many lives of suffering people in India.

I first met Dr. Shroff of MOHAN Foundation in April 2009. I found my way to the office after having explored the entire MOHAN Foundation website that left a big impression on me. I was received with the best of hospitality, and together we looked at ways to cooperate.

Since I am a PhD researcher working for Brussels University working on the topic of brain death and cadaveric organ transfer in India, linking up with MOHAN Foundation just seemed like the right thing to do. Not just did it seem so, it was! The atmosphere at MOHAN Foundation is very gentle and light, notwithstanding the fact that the employees are performing one of the most difficult jobs with great enthusiasm investing all manpower with grace.Read More

Although my field study also requires that I travel to Vrindavan and Varanasi, returning to the MOHAN Foundation office in Chennai regularly always feels like coming home. I feel like working with MOHAN Foundation is like being part of a family where the family ties are the service that is delivered to society at large. I could even enjoy a short visit to MOHAN Foundation in Hyderabad and felt that same bond, of people being united in a joint cause, triggered by loving feelings for the community.

I have been working with MOHAN Foundation ever since that day in April, and my field research will continue until February 2011. I am most certain that I will be sad to end my stay here in Chennai and in extension India, but then again, our cooperation to deliver service to humanity never will.

My summer internship with MOHAN Foundation has been an invaluable experience. I have been challenged and pushed during my time here, which has made me a better public health professional. I feel that my work here has been extremely meaningful and my inputs are valued. I am grateful to work with such seasoned professionals in the fields of public health and development, and because of them, my time here has truly been inspiring. I would absolutely recommend working with MOHAN Foundation and would be thrilled to come back and work with this amazing organization again. My only regret is that I couldnít stay longer.
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Internship by Ms. Shweta Gupta, Masters of Design, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati

I had been in MOHAN Foundation for very short period of time. To work with the foundation was a very valuable experience for me. I worked on creating an awareness video on a sensitive issue - organ donation. This work was related to my master thesis project in IIT Guwahati and I am glad to spread this awareness through MOHAN Foundation. I feel very grateful to work for this noble cause with an energetic team. Thank you!

My experience at MF was very valuable and enjoyable. Working with the dedicated team at MF was a very uplifting experience and I feel very blessed to have gotten an opportunity to work for MF and contribute to the noble cause that they serve.

As a Social work trainee, I learnt more details about Organ Donation. Same time enjoyed well to work with this team. It gave a new experience to me. I worked here independently. No one forced me to work. But all gave guidance to work with calmness.

Very first day of my internship, I didnít know what to do. I was totally confused and came here only for getting my marks. But from second day, I started loving the work and felt comfortable to work. I now know more details about Brain death and Organ Donation. Read More

When I came here, I donít know that the difference between Organ Donation and Body Donation, as well Brain death and Vegetative state. But now I knew very well about it. In my home town Trichy, no one will speak in English. Though I can understand well, yet I was nervous to talk in English. This nervousness is reduced.

I had to check the online version of the Indian Transplant Newsletter. This helped a lot to learn about the earlier work of MOHAN Foundation as well as some new Medical Terms. I went for two awareness programs on Organ Donation, one at Anna University and the other at Tata Consultancy Service (TCS, Thoraipakkam). At TCS, MOHAN Foundation gave me the opportunity to speak about Brain Death. It was a new feeling to me. This exposure will help to reduce my nervousness to talk in public. When I joined I did not know that I have the capacity to translate passages from English to Tamil. I learnt the skill of translation. I got more knowledge and learned some new Tamil words and English words also. I translated the Nurses Training Booklet from English to Tamil. The internship also made me learn the skill of Tamil typing, which I really I didnít know well. Now I can type well in Tamil.

Then really amazing thing that I had the opportunity to write a Story about Heart Transplantation (Soul mate) to publish in magazines, though I donít know how much it will work. It was an opportunity to think well about the theme and write story. I got the opportunity to attend an Indian Society of Organ Transplantation (ISOT - Midterm Meeting) Conference. I helped in the organization as well in the reporting during the conference. I gained more knowledge about Organ Transplantation and Law of Organ Donation. It was an Asian conference, so it helped me to collect more details about organ donation procedure in other countries like China, Iran, Srilanka, Nepal, Australia & Bangladesh.

At MOHAN Foundation, we can meet the higher authorities with ease and discuss any matter. All transplant coordinators were very helpful and made me a part of their team. They took time to go through all my outputs and corrected them. Seriously I say it from my heart. Really I enjoyed to work here and again I will return in May with a few classmates for Transplant Coordinators Training Programme.

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